


Blood Legions vs. The Mojave Mercy

by darius44



Series: Blood Legion's End [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Death, Detective Work, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Legion - Freeform, Multi, Non-Canonical Character Death, Violence, War, battles, caesar is back and its lanius, crimes and their shitty effects, dont worry it has a happy ending, nick valentine and piper are a detective Duo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-30 09:17:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13948509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darius44/pseuds/darius44
Summary: Who is the Mina Kaldor? Is she the Sole Survivor? What are her secrets?The legion is reborn as the Blood Legion, and is coming for the Independent Queen of the Mojave... but why are they in the commonwealth?





	1. Blood and Tears

A knock on the door, oddly metallic.  
Piper rose up from the couch, and called out: “who-who is it?”  
“It’s Nick!” came the urgent reply.  
The old man sounded almost panicked, like someone was in very clear and bad danger.  
“Coming!” Piper practically bounded to the door, jerking it open.  
He looked so old; eyes downcast, his trench coat looked like it had gone through a Super Mutant clothing factory, and there was so much blood on it.  
Nick Valentine looked up, and Piper screamed.  
He was missing an eye, and he was sparking off.  
Something was so, so very wrong.  
Piper hugged-led him inside, but before she could close the door, a few people ran in, guns up, and looking frosty.  
Cait, Deacon and X6-88 looked like they had been beaten to an inch of their lives, recovered for a bit, and then beaten up again badly.  
They were all haggard, and looked like they’d been betrayed, hurt, and then shot too.  
Piper was speechless and felt her legs tremble.  
Curie came in through the door last, backwards, and closed the door. She threw her gun down and leapt into Piper’s arms, hugging her tightly.  
“oh, Cheri” Curie wept, shaking.  
Nick cleared his throat, or what was left of it, and everyone snapped to attention immediately.  
“Piper… its… its Mina…” he said slowly, “She’s not the Vault 111 survivor.”  
Piper felt her legs give way, but in an instant, Deacon was right with her, holding her up with Curie.  
“W-what do… what the fuck do--” started Piper weakly, eyes watering, “what the fuck do you mean Man??”  
A tense silence settled on everyone, as they looked anywhere but at Piper- Except for Nick and Curie. X6 sat unmoving and emotionless, but his hands gripped the sofa too tightly.  
Deacon felt tense to Piper, like he was ready to run away forever.  
Cait looked like she had seen the ghost of her parents, and her abuser.  
Curie looked at Piper softly, but her eyes and brows were tense, arched angrily.  
“She’s the New Vegas Queen” Nick said heavily.  
Piper tried to speak, but words wouldn’t form.  
The Mojave Queen was a legendary and terrifying woman from far away, with a huge empire spanning half of America. She was a brown woman with a penchant for diplomacy, and a favour for tricks and cunning. She was also hyper-lethal in battle.  
Simply put, one would rather be an ally than an enemy of the Mojave Mina, unless one was exceptionally stupid or foolhardy.  
No one had managed to defeat her, eventually. Where Mina suffered losses in Battle, she won by strategic victories later on. Any leader who had tried to go toe to toe had either ended up at her mercy, dead or crippled.  
Her mercy and generosity were the stuff of legend- she let herself by stung by El Cazadores just to help a cripple Boomer to safety. She once took a shot to the head in battle from an anti-mat rifle and lived, from a ranger no less. She had wiped clean the slate of the Mojave, contacted her tribes, uniting them under one banner.  
She had fought west and south and north, alone and with her army, and she had camped out in extreme cold just to catch the legendary “El Diablo Verde” Deathclaw. And she made that monstrosity thrice the size of a Deathclaw her pet.  
And she rode it into battle too. Her pet, whom she had named Snuggie.  
And to top it all? Rumour had it that Mina was in control of the Big MT, with more research capability at her fingertips than all of the Brotherhood of Steel chapters everywhere.  
And… She was a cyborg. She was young and didn’t look any older than thirty. Stolen medical reports indicated that she didn’t age either.  
But… that was the Mojave Mina. No WAY was that frightening Queen was Piper’s very own Blue.  
Nick suddenly groaned, jerking here and there. Electricity coursed through him briefly, and when it was over, he hunched over.  
“Indeed… a. new… body… 6…” said Nick weakly.  
X6-88 walked over to Nick, swung the latter’s arm over his shoulder, and then stood straight.  
Nick cleared his throat and looked at piper, his one good eye beseeching her to listen intently.  
“We were ambushed near Spectacle Island by this… group” Said Nick, trailing off.  
“They flew a red and green banner, calling themselves The New Legion” said X6-88, his voice calm and collected.  
“The New Legion is uh… shall I say…” said Curie, her expression thoughtful, “very bad news.”  
“Fuck yeah it is!” Cait spat, practically shaking with rage now, “them fuckers defeated the NCRR or whatever the fuck, absorbed me, and Lennys is their leader!”  
Cait gulped, and sat leaned against a wall, breathing deeply, her anger written on her face.  
“Lanius is… Caesar now” said Deacon, his mouth a broken smile.  
“He’s… bad”, said Deacon, after a moment, “He was said to have been spared by the Mojave Mercy as they call her… told to go West to be ready for a war later on.”  
“and that’s when he destroyed the NCR” Nick continued, “He decimated them. They were weakened by Mercy’s army, and he pounced on them just south of Nevada and a second contingent near… fuck… the San Feresco or whatever…”  
“That far out??” exclaimed Piper, confused.  
“Yes” X6-88 replied calmly.  
A moment later, he continued, “Lanius Daxos the Second, son of the Daxos I, was sent to San Francisco and New Reno to start the legion movement. He failed, so he sought out an enclave base and smashed its defences, taking over the post.”  
“he then sent half his forces to south of the Mojave, baiting the NCR remnants, and to the NCR bases all over the East coast.”  
“And everywhere, the bait never worked- it was all out war…” said Cait bitterly.  
“Yes,” said Nick, his voice much more even, “It was a bloodshed.”  
Piper cupped her hands over her mouth, shocked. THE NCR, crushed??  
“You see…” Deacon spoke, sighing, “The New Legion did smash the enclave, but not wipe them out. Daxos the Second made a deal and opened trade routes that the Enclave had been secretly trying to get for decades. The Deal was so good the Enclave, the fucking ENCLAVE, was rebranded.”  
“Daxos II isn’t your normal Legion boy” said Curie venomously, “He is a cunning man, who isn’t trying to bring about some ideological shit… all he does is make people happy. And all they have to do is be loyal and wear the flag.”  
Piper felt like crying; so much news in one day was just beginning to show its effect on her.  
She sat down next Curie, who still held her tenderly.  
“Never mind all this, I need a new goddamn body. And this mug too” said Nick lightly, chuckling.  
A brief murmur of laughter broke out, easing the tension.  
But Piper noticed not everyone was here, so she asked; “Where are Preston, Maccready and Hancock?”  
She was apprehensive and looked at everyone apprehensively.  
Everyone looked to be back on edge again, meaning… something not good at all.  
Something wasn’t right~! thought Piper.  
Cait started to sob, collapsing from the wall on the floor.  
X6-88 wavered in supporting Nick, and Deacon looked like he was sweating, and Curie turned to look at Piper sorrowfully.  
“Piper… I am sorry, Cheri” Curie said softly, the beginning of tears forming on her eyes.  
Piper merely stared back at her, unsure of what or how to feel.  
“Piper… Maccready is… they… th-they took Duncan” said Curie slowly, tears rolling down her beautiful face, “So he… joined the New Legion… for his son.”  
Piper felt like she had no breath left, but still, she tried to breathe. Two more people to know about, she steeled herself.  
“Preston and Hancock…” Cait started weakly but burst out into full-on wails.  
Nick cleared his throat and everyone looked at him again.  
“Piper I know you loved Preston, he was your best friend…” Nick said, his voice the epitome of grief, “But… he and his General Hancock… they…”  
Nick the synth swallowed hard and averted his eyes from Piper.  
“They’re dead. We saw a nuke go off from our sniper’s nest” continued Nick, gesturing to himself and X6, “they were incinerated in the blast. Just before that, they were overrun by… by those…”  
“FWECKING CENTAURS!!!” SCREAMED Cait, jumping up and bodily throwing the mail box across the room. She leapt on it and started pummelling it with her bare fists.  
“THEY!!” thunk! “TOOK!!” thunk! “MY!!” thunk! thunk! “fucking HUSBAND!!!” thunk! thunk! thunk! thunk! thunk!  
She collapsed backwards, sobbing.  
“They… they took my Preston away… and Hancock… the… the one who saved me…” Cait said before fading away into quiet sobs.  
Curie held Piper tighter, laying her head on the tear stained coat.  
Piper started to weep, and just… nothing else mattered then. Hancock and Preston, sacrificing themselves against those beasts, and Maccready… Maccready betraying them… It was too much.  
Piper cried onto Curie for a couple of minutes before she steeled herself and sat up straight again. She wiped her Curie’s tears away, as well as her own.  
It was time to act, and now was as good as ever.  
“Are you--” started Piper, but there was a knock on the door.  
“Open up, Miss Piper” said a commanding voice, silky, deep and almost melodious, and it belonged to someone wholly unfamiliar.  
Everyone looked at each other and cocked their guns to the door.  
The knocks came again, followed by a gruff and sad voice.  
“Please… Piper…” said Danse.  
“Mina needs our help” he continued after a short pause, “She is in Danger!”  
Some fiddling noises came, and then it sounded like Danse appeared to be using a Pip-Boy.  
“MAY DAY!!!” SCREAMED Mina into the silence, “PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH! I NNEED YOUR HELP! THE PRYDWEN HAS JUST GONE DOWN OVER SPECTACLE ISLAND! THE NEW LEGION HAS COME! WE-- AAAAAARGH”  
Mina screamed in a bloodcurdling unholy way, which was then followed by deafening booms of some sort of large weapon. Something robotic and human meld-screamed, and with one last screaming boom, the creature collapsed somewhere away from Mina.  
“My people… Help… h-help me…” the voice faded out before Mina sounded like she collapsed. Her breathing stayed on for a few tense minutes until…  
Until there was no breathing.  
Everyone in Piper’s office did a collective take in of breath- no… no way this was real.  
The Prydwen was destroyed, Mina was possibly dead, and the New Legion had come to the Commonwealth.


	2. Mama Murphy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mama Murphy has a chat with the gang...

Piper looked up and down the empty corridor of the Red Rocket place- or Home, as Mina would call it.  
Mina….  
NO! Piper refused to think about what she had heard from Danse.  
Still, she wiped her eyes weakly and proceeded to plod her way to the breakfast area near the garage.  
She heard the pneumatics of the power armor working away, causing her to smile. Danse was already hard to work for his lover.  
As Piper began to eat her omelette thanks to an old settler friend, Piper thought back to the evening.  
Curie and the rest had let Danse in who was… well, broken. He was a sad man, and he had a lost look in his eye. It was obvious had heard the recording many times and he just… had stopped. Danse had not spoken to anyone, merely grunting and speaking small phrases for Rhys or Piper.  
He seemed to have a soft spot for Piper, now. Ever since he found out he was a synth, he had been seeking comfort. Piper had found him shying around her place, and interviewed him. He had some very good insights into the commonwealth, things he shared only perhaps with close friends.   
Danse had come in and immediately stood around Piper, hovering and helping her. He even gave piper a muscular hug as a goodnight.   
Deacon later had everyone sleep on the floor with his camping and medical supplies. They had all taken turns to be treated by Curie, the least hurt of them all.   
Nick… Nick hadn’t been the same since meeting Piper. He wouldn’t do the smoking thing, his hands would tremble, and he would make these noises like he was yelping from something hurt in his very being.   
Nick looked like he was a broken man- he was missing parts of his old synth body, and he would often stare into the distance.   
Danse would look at him, and from his eyes, everyone knew that he was thinking what everyone else was too; just what exactly did Nick Valentine learn?  
Piper had been on duty most night, along with a detachment of Danse’s unit. Rhys was too quiet, not even disparaging of a new recruit that just acted a little too much like Mina, with her brown hair and deep voice.  
Danse wouldn’t even talk to the recruit without choking back tears. The recruit had taken it in stride, helping around and staying out of sight.   
After her shift was over, Piper had quietly swapped with Ellie, who was now a bona fide bouncer. She seemed taller, leaner and seemed to radiate an aura of strength. She also wore the same clothes look as Nick, showing her position as a detective. Thankfully there was one habit that Piper was happy that Ellie had not taken on- smoking. All this just made Ellie a lot more badass.  
Piper closed her eyes when she felt hands clasp on her eyes, accompanied by familiar “Bonjour, cheri!”  
Curie’s hands were cool, and thankfully not gloved yet. Piper flushed bright red, and giggled.   
“Hello, Curie” said Piper half-awkwardly, holding Curies hands and looking up.  
Curie looked the picture of health, with perfectly done make up or whatever synths put on. She also looked fresh and with bright red lips…  
“Want one?” said Curie, giggling.  
In one simple and fluid motion, curie bent down, kissed Piper on her forehead, tensed a bit, an vaulted over the table to the other side.  
Piper looked at her, mouth agape, marvelling at… all of Curie.  
Curie was a courser, but sure as all hell didn’t act like one. If anything, she acted like a girl playing at doctor.  
Mina had insisted that she wanted the best body for Curie, and after much convincing with Dr. Amari, negotiations with Fahrenheit, bribes to KLEO, and a treat or ten for Dogmeat, they had managed to capture, kill and recover the body of a synth female courser.   
Mina had been ecstatic, and Dr. Amari was dumbfounded. After setting up an elaborate and frankly unnecessary protection around everyone, Curie’s consciousness had been transferred to the Synth.   
Curie had immediately shot back up, scaring Dr. Amari into unconsciousness, and practically pranced to Mina and Piper.   
Okay, it was actually Dogmeat Curie had first hiugged. She was an animal person after all. Everyone had cheered, and Curie the synth was officially introduced the a very high Hanccok and Preston; both of whom subsequently had no words to describe Curie.   
Things had pretty much settled by then, and now Curie was silently poring over the maps of the Commonwealth.  
A zapping noise brought everyone to attention… as well as the entirety of Red Rocket’s guns, lasers, spotlights, heavy cannons and one lone Ion beam cannon.   
Piper went to the door adjacent to the garage and observed the scene.  
The dust settled, and X6-88 and a brand-new Gen 2 synth looked around. The Gen 2 yelled something before X6-88 deftly gripped it head, threw it down, and then just as quickly jammed a weird looking knife into the robot’s head.  
The Gen 2 Synth died out without a sound. X6-88 took hold of it by its head, and dragged it to the garage, setting it on the Synth Operation table that Mina had the Institute give them.  
Piper, curious and now joined by Curie, followed X6 and observed what he was doing.  
Piper cupped her mouth in horror at the condition of Nick lying on another table. He was… well, what was left of Nivk was pretty much junk by now. Only Nick’s head looked on OK condition.   
X6-88 used a special drill and cutter to take body parts off the dead synth, pasting them onto Nick. He noticed Piper staring and offered a smile.  
Wow, X6-88 smiling?? What a morning.  
Nick groaned but did not wake when the eyes were replaced from their tranquil yellow to soft deep blue. The newer model immediately woke Nick up, forcing him to run diagnostics.   
Nick looked up with his new eyes, his fixed face and waved at Piper and Curie. He then practically jumped back to see his restored hands.   
X6-88 chuckled, settling now in a chair to work on Nick’s legs. Nick smiled at everyone, and spoke.  
“Hey X6-88,” said Nick pleasantly.  
X6-88 smiled and said “The name is now Xavier K., sir”.  
“Sure,” Nick chuckled, raising his hands and pointing it to the carcass next to him.   
“Since when did you care about an old man like me?” asked Nick.  
“Since you were with M-- Boss” said Xavier, pausing to avoid saying that name.  
“Good enough,” said Nick, already putting his prim white shirt and tie on, “We’ll need everyone in tip top shape for today.”  
“Why?” asked Piper, just as the sound of Pneumatics came closer and closer.  
“Since we decided we need to investigate Vault 111,” said Danse, taking off his helmet and breathing deeply.  
“Oui! After you were on duty, Piper, we decided to raid the Vault 111” said Curie, who had emerged with more breakfast. She looked like damn housewife, so prim and proper- not some human-like machine designed to kill.   
Xavier cleared his throat and said; “Deacon and the rest will be back from Recon soon. We move in half an hour, get to the Vault, finds its secrets and then leave, sealing the Vault.”  
Piper looked a bit confused, “Seal??”  
“Yes,” said a raspy voice, and it was Mama Murphy appearing behind Curie. She sometimes visited Red Rocket to tend to the farms around it.  
“They will come for it, and its secrets” she said slowly, “I have seen how they will find things and use that against us… Mina… deserves to have her past guarded whatever it is.”  
Everyone nodded solemnly, looking anywhere but Danse or Mama.  
Mama Murphy had taken the news pretty hard, especially of Preston’s death. And when she heard that Mina was missing, assumed dead, she had a vision that caused her to almost die from a heart attack.  
Mama Murphy reached up to Danse, who promptly removed his helmet. Mama caressed his cheeked, smiling, her black skin glistening in the morning light.  
Danse brought his hands to her face, cupping them gently, while Mama held his head. Danse lowered himself, and was now just as tall as her while he wore power armour.  
“Its been…b-been hard, Mama,” said Danse, choking back tears, “She’s alive, but… I… I felt my heart die a little…”  
Mama Murphy looked at him, gently caressing his face and wiping away the tears, cooing to him with little sounds of “Sshh, Sshh, its alright”.  
“She’s alive kiddo,” she said gently, to no one in particular. Xavier turned down the intensity of his machines so that everyone could listen in, rapt already as they were.  
“I had a vision while on that high stuff Hancok has for medical things” continued Mama, “In the vision she looked… sad. Like she was fighting for too long, alone and scared…”  
Danse let out a yelp, and a new wave of tears, shaking and breathing raggedly.  
“I—I th-thought she--” started Danse, but he was cut off by Mama, who said:  
“No, child, don’t cry! She is alive, but time… time is under the boot of the Blood Legion”  
Everyone did a collective intake of breath, as shock reverberated through the collective. Some of the settlers nearby even stopped. Even the Xavier, epitome of composure, dropped his machine saw. Thankfully, it wasn’t running.  
“H-how did you know??” asked Nick, shocked and icy in his question.  
“I know things, Nick,” said Mama calmly, looking at him, her face beaming but her eyes cryptic and unnervingly calm.  
Nick nodded, and opened his mouth to ask something but decided against it.   
His expression was… unreadable- he looked to be thinking deeply.  
Xavier cleared his throat, and asked Nick to lie down face forward.  
“Nick…” said Mama, slowly and carefully.   
Nick put a thumbs up, indicating he could still hear her.  
“This will sound cliché but… you won’t like the answers you find the Vault…” She decalred, clearing the last of Danse’s tears. The soldier stood up, proud warrior once more.  
“I didn’t know that, Ma’am, thank you” said Nick, his tone brimming with sarcasm.  
He was about to say something sarcastic again when Mama focused on him once more, and said;  
“You don’t know Mina, Nick. You are about to destroy your very own friend, and find things about her that… well, you cant see it coming,” said Mama Murphy, her tone cutting, with a hint of… bitterness? Nick and Xavier could only guess.  
One thing was certain; whatever was in that Vault, Mama already knew.   
And it had shaken her to the core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a gift!! an early chapter!! yay!!


	3. 3a: Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The preparations continue...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't much but I hope its enough to keep the series going!   
> I am sick, so the next chapter would be a tiny bit late.  
> I hope you enjoy!

“Well, shit!” Piper kicking the dirt nervously.  
“What is it?” asked Curie, curious and inquisitive as always.   
“Mama’s spooked!” said Piper, throwing her hands up. Piper was very nervous, and began pacing around, hugging herself.  
Xavier started to say something, but was interrupted by Deacon.  
“Everyone, gather round, we need to start the operation right now,” said Deacon evenly, appearing out of nowhere. It turned out he had been working the farm. He actually looked dirty, which meant he was putting some effort in. this was saying something, considering he didn’t like Red Rocket too much- or so he claimed.  
He was very good at blending in if he wanted to- but most times he just didn’t even try. He was a spy, but “Lazy and Spy- that’s Deacon!” as a certain local leader had said about him.  
“Me, Cait and Xavier will be the Point Insertion team, with Piper as observer” he continued, as he was washing his hands in the tap nearby. He came to the spare table where Xavier was laying out several maps.  
“The second team will be Danse and Ellie, in Power armour,” said Xavier, gesturing to Danse, “Doing a thorough search after the first team makes the sweep.”  
“Team 3, which is the second Insertion group, will be Nick, Curie, Codsworth” continued Deacon, poring over the map and tracing a line, while Codsworth rolled up and said a cheery ‘Hello!’ to everyone.  
“The rear team will be the Greys and the Minutemen, under Danse’s command. They’re instructed to sweep the complex faster and quickly, and are ALL in super powered Power Armour, thanks to Mi- I mean… our old friend” said Xavier, smiling brightly.  
One thing that set Xavier apart was how cheerful he was about Mina. He had immediately disparaged anyone who suggested Mina might have kicked the bucket and had immediately set to optimising all the equipment.  
Xavier looked at Danse and nodded. In turn, Danse made a modified Minutemen-and-Brotherhood salute. Xavier saluted back crisply.  
The Greys were the group that had defected with Danse when they found he was a synth. Half of them were Synths, and had been immediately reprogrammed by Xavier to remove the kill-switch-signal that Institute used to control its synths.   
The sounds of marching feet and metal brought everyone to attention as three companies of soldier marched from Sanctuary to Red Rocket.  
They were… Immaculate, Piper thought; she saw that were well equipped and ready for action.   
Piper met their leader, Haylen, with a hug once they arrived. Haylen looked softer, sweeter, without her cap and scribe uniform. She was still in a sort of unform, but it was the looser fatigues and getup of the minutemen.   
Piper held her at an arm’s length, and appraised her.  
Piper felt a deep sadness when looking at Haylen’s face- she looked so old, so weary, and so… sad. Haylen had been the one leading the Exodus from Prydwen, the one who was the rock on which Danse clung for dear existential life, to which he deferred all command for an unspecified amount of time.  
The weeks had taken a toll on Haylen for sure, and she took it in stride.   
Piper shifted her focus up and looked into her eyes; Piper smiled as she looked into a familiar fiery blue burning bright and purposeful, the same eyes that she had been drawn to the first time they had met.   
Pulling Haylen into a deep hug, Piper whispered, “I am so glad you’re here… I… need you”  
“I know, Piper, I know” said Haylen soothingly, stiffening as she noticed Piper sniffing tearfully.  
Haylen brought her to arms-length again, and caressed her face, and said, “Little sister, it’s going to be okay… it’s going to be okay.”  
With every cooed word, Piper had settled deeper and deeper into Haylen’s palm, feeling warmth, surety and safety radiate through her entire being.  
Piper held the older woman’s hand and smiled, reassuring her.  
They separated reluctantly as someone came with a large wad of clothing, some technological stuff, and a single lone revolver. Haylen jovially greeted the person behind the stack, enthusiastically shaking hands.  
With some effort, the person dumped their mechandise onto the ground, and huffed.  
The person revealed themselves to be Proctor Ingram, Synth extraordinaire.  
Why? Well, she had use of her legs for one, thanks to Deacon’s love struck… adventures (to say the least).   
Ingram waved to Deacon, who smiled goofily and waved back from the map table, confirming delivery of the goods.   
Ingram smiled, and Piper marvelled at it; it was the most loving and blushy smile Piper had seen since Danse proposed to Mina.  
Mina… Piper hardened herself internally. She did not avoid her name, like it was some curse- she lived for Mina, and believed with hope against hope that her best friend was alive and well.  
Piper smiled at Ingram, who was tending to the clothing. Haylen was helping too, sorting and cleaning the armaments and making a neat package for someone.  
This someone turned out to be Piper, who, having received her gear for the Mission, went off to her house facing Concord.   
Meanwhile, after his blush subsided, Deacon noticed Glory materialise near the garage door, idly checker her arms and ammo. She was badass, and had let her hair grow out like Desdemona.  
Desdemona herself was far away, tending to some Synth business as usual.  
Deacon examined the battle plans for the umpteenth time, and felt just as uneasy as the beginning. Something wasn’t adding up, and despite his repeated checks and balances, everything seemed to be going too well.  
Addressing Xavier, Deacon whispered something furtively while glancing at the maps, pointing here and there. Xavier stopped smiling, and nodded seriously.  
Something really wasn’t feeling right if Xavier was not smiling or at least ambivalent about it.  
Elsewhere, Mama Murphy was lounging on the roof of the Red Rocket and decided to listen in to Deacon’s bullshit.   
“Where is the boy?” Deacon had asked, almost affectionately.  
Xavier had been silent, but an arm shot out of the garage, pointed towards the overlook leading to the Vault 111.  
Mama smiled, and waited for the rest of the conversation.  
“do you think… M-Mina… wo-would--” started Deacon again, his voice weak and grief stricken. It tugged at Mama’s heart, to see this boy so… broken.  
“Yes,” was all Xavier said and Mama smiled. X6-88 could hold a room with that much gravitas if he wanted to. Xavier also was a firm believer in Mina.  
A small ‘oh!’ interrupted Mama’s reverie, and she peered over the edge cautiously.  
Deacon was hugging Xavier- and the latter, after a shocked moment, wrapped his arms back around the man. He also gingerly patted Deacon’s back, but Mama could see it was a rather robotic notion. Xavier was rather new to human affections.  
Stifling a chuckle, she settled back into her chair. If Deacon could be so uncharacteristically himself, and Xavier could hug back, if Piper and Haylen could bear each other and if Nick could take charge as he had… then maybe, just maybe Mina’s friends could bear the truth of her existence.   
Only time would tell, and the Vault 111 waited, in silence with its secrets held close to its metallic heart.


End file.
